This disclosure is directed to systems and methods that provide improvements in substrate handling in image forming devices.
Printers, copiers and other types of image forming devices have become necessary productivity tools for producing and/or reproducing documents. Such image forming devices include, but are not limited to, desktop copiers, stand-alone copiers, scanners, facsimile machines, photographic copiers and developers, multi-function devices (MFDs), desktop printers, network printers and other like systems capable of producing and/or reproducing image digital data from an original document, data file or the like.
Generally, the process of electrophotographic image forming includes charging a photoconductive member such as a photoconductive belt or drum to a substantially uniform potential to sensitize the photoconductive surface of the photoconductive member. The charged portion of the photoconductive surface is then exposed to a light image from a light source. This light image causes an electrostatic latent image to be formed on the previously uniformly-charged photoconductive surface of the photoconductive member. After the electrostatic latent image is recorded on the photoconductive surface, the latent image is exposed to a marker device or unit that applies charged toner particles onto the latent image on the surface of the photoconductive member according to the charge imparted by the photoconductor. A toner image representing that portion of a final image that is to be formed using a single color of toner is formed on the surface of the photoconductive member. In color reprographic devices the toner image is typically transferred to an intermediate image receiving element. The toner image formed by one or multiple passes of the photoconductive member in contact with the intermediate image receiving element is next transferred onto a suitable image receiving print media such as bond paper. The imaged receiving print media is then exposed to heat and/or pressure to fuse or fix the toner image to the output image receiving media.
As the technology expands, configurations of image forming devices are becoming increasingly more capable, and coincidentally increasingly more complex. Objectives of advances in image forming technologies and devices are to allow for increased reliability, greater image productivity and/or throughput while maintaining image quality and limiting cost. Conventionally, various types of image forming devices transport output image receiving media in linear or straight line paths, particularly between marker modules and fuser modules, in order that the toner deposited on the output image receiving media is not disturbed prior to being ultimately fixed on the output image receiving media. Such capabilities depend on the systems themselves, for example, in the modes of operation of the systems and/or the physical complexity of the systems.
There are many areas regarding output image receiving media substrate handling that lend themselves to optimization within image forming devices as currently configured and operated. An area to be optimized concerns configurations for feeding sheets of image receiving media substrate from a supply of media sheets to an image transfer section in which image forming substances are deposited on the substrate prior to such substance being fixed on the substrate.
Difficulties in individual sheet transport from conventional sheet feeders traditionally represent a significant root cause of print media based system shutdowns or jams in all manner of image forming devices which transport image receiving media upon which hard-copy output images are formed. In many instances, media handling problems occur in the feeder tray holding a supply of print media sheets in the form of a late or slow feed that causes a paper jam or timing error and machine shutdown. When such errors and/or shutdowns occur, significant delays in production from the involved image forming device or devices may ensue before a user may even recognize that a jam and/or shutdown has occurred requiring, in many cases, user intervention to clear the paper jam error and reset/restart the machine. These difficulties become particularly acute when the image forming device is remotely located from any individual operator or user that sends data to the image forming device for production.